This book is filled with essential parenting advice for understanding the challenging middle years of childhood, during which children master the skills and habits that determine future health and well-being. 100+ two-color illustrations.

What are the components of high-quality care for school-age children? How can we tell the quality of care that is being provided on a daily basis? These are the challenges facing caregivers and parents as increasing numbers of school-age children are enrolled in before- and after-school programs. SACERS provides an easy to use resource for defining high-quality care and assessing levels of quality in child care programs offered by schools and other organizations. It consists of 49 items, organized under seven categories: Space and Furnishings; Health and Safety; Activities; Interactions; Program Structure; Staff Development: and Supplementary Items (for children with special needs). Full instructions for using the scale, a training guide, and notes clarifying selected items are included. In addition, one blank score sheet is provided in the center of each book. Packages of 30 score sheets may be ordered separately.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Families need child care more in the 1990s than ever before. Those hours surrounding school time are particularly troublesome for working parents. In this new edition of a pioneering work, Seligson and Allenson explore the challenges that child care providers will encounter as the 21st century approaches. The authors skillfully balance a practical business operations text with an investigation into the meaning of social obligation. The central theme of partnership in offering care underscores each of the 12 chapters. These general planning elements form guidelines designing and managing a caring program for children aged 5-12. Topics covered include administration, curriculum, legal issues, budgeting, and assessment. Careful consideration is given to an outline for human resources development. The authors take an in-depth look at the day-to-day operation of a center--detailing concerns from behavioral and medical to scheduling and transportation. The concept of a child care professionalism which reflects respect, partnership, and caring, is sustained throughout this practical manual. An important contribution to the research and practice of child care, this volume draws providers and practitioners together in a process of self-reflection in order to effectively respond to the needs of today's--and tomorrow's--families.